Gallup: More Americans “Pro-Life” Than “Pro-Choice” for First Time

[Sqrl]

jv103 said:

Sqrl said:

But you do recognize that the fetus/embryo is alive and that abortion is therefore murder yes?  I mean murder of life, regardless of whether it would/should be classified as human.  That is what is taking place in an abortion...or would you disagree with that?

Our view on the issue is very similar (my cutoff is week 12 shortly after the end of the embryonic period), and I think we agree in basic premise if not specifics so I'm not attacking that.  But I do think pro-choice means accepting murder to facilitate free choice no matter how you view it. 

I only ask because many people who are pro-choice revolt at such a statement and I think it is an irrefutable fact of the matter that a living organism separate and distinct from the mother is being destroyed in the name of her choice. It after all has a unique set of DNA and could not be considered a part of the mother's body any more than a disease or parasite would.

PS - I consider myself both pro-choice and pro-life to be completely honest.  I think a woman should have the right to do what she wants with her body even if it means harming another non-human life (ie parasites, diseases, gerbils (lol), etc...), but as soon as we talk about a human life I'm vehemently pro-life. Obviously the question is "when" does that change happen. To most this is a pro-choice view and so I take the label mostly for clarity.

You mention it is an embryo and then "Murder" at the same time. If you kill it in the embyronic stage then is it murder? I thought murder was a concept for humans killing humans (an Embyro is not human-but has the potential to be one maybe "premurder"?). OR are you conflating murder with any killing of life to bring the baggage along with the word? I murdered a pig last week for bacon. 

If one used the morning after pill and the egg was fertilized would that be murder?

 

In the context of law obviously murder has a specific human meaning.  I was using it in the same sense of the word "kill".  Mostly because if someone killed my dog, for instance, I would regard that as murder.  We can go into the semantics of murder but it really is irrelevant, the point is conveyed just the same.

Specifically....

The life that was alive is now dead... we can call this:

• annihilation
• assassination
• butchery
• death
• destruction
• dispatching
• foul play
• massacre
• offing
• rub out
• slaying
• snuff out
• taking out
• And many other thesaurus listings, etc....

But the meaning is ultimately the same.

 

The point you eluded to somewhat is "What value does the life have?".  And I would point out that this is actually the crux of the entire debate and thus is not really suited to be addressed under the pretext of a semantic dispute over a single word in a larger argument.